Cindy Fairfield: NPR missed an opportunity with analyst's firing

Cindy FairfieldI admit it. I am an NPR (National Public Radio) junkie. And I won’t stop listening though I think NPR crossed the line this week with the firing of news analyst Juan Williams for something he said on the Fox News network.

Officials at the network were exercising hyper-sensitivity over a remark Williams made in regard to Muslims on a competing cable TV network noted for its conservative and sometimes divisive programming.

Williams said on Fox News what thousands and perhaps millions of folks in America have thought: He gets nervous when he’s in an airport and sees “people who are dressed in Muslim garb and I think they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims.”

He didn’t say he has a vendetta against Muslims. He didn’t say they don’t deserve to be American citizens or fly on American planes or that we need to take some kind of action against them. He didn’t say Muslims are by nature evil.

He simply made an honest personal statement in his role as an analyst. He was not a reporter covering a news story, where objectivity is paramount. He was in a role as an analyst, which is akin to being a columnist on our editorial page. We expect our columnists to have opinions — otherwise what’s the point?

Williams’ comment provided an opportunity to explore more. It was a chance to have a meaningful conversation about why he and so many other people get nervous. Interestingly on the same day he made the statement, a person I know on Facebook who was on a plane messaged on the newsfeed that she was sitting next to someone with a turban on his head and it made her nervous.

Instead of muzzling Williams, NPR should have seized this opportunity to plan a forum on its own program that included Williams, Muslims and experts on race relations to discuss the issue. I for one would have loved to hear the conversation.

You see many of us react to situations out of ignorance. We are fearful of what we don’t know. If our only exposure to a situation or people of different races and ethnic upbringing has been in a negative way, that is how we react.

My parents grew up in white Appalachia and their people, often referred to as “hillbillies,” have been the subject of prejudice themselves. But they grew up being fearful of black folks because they had no personal experience with them — only what they heard or saw on national TV.

After moving to Cincinnati and having the opportunity to work and develop friendships with people of color, they realized the blanket fear they had developed out of ignorance was misplaced. They learned to judge people as individuals, realizing there are good and bad folks of all colors and creeds.

It appears that NPR took the easy way out. It was easier to fire Williams and placate a few “hyper-sensitive” folks who might squawk because they were offended than to do what all media has an obligation to do: Talk about subject matter that makes us uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, this flap came at the worst time possible for our local NPR networks. No, NPR doesn’t deserve to have its public funding cut. No, people don’t need to band together to boycott the station.

One extreme action doesn’t deserve another. Instead, let’s chalk it up to a learning experience for all. Because this NPR junkie needs her news fix 24/7.

Cindy Fairfield is the editor of the Muskegon Chronicle. E-mail: cfairfield@muskegonchronicle.com